Suspects Charged in Prison Money Card and Insurance Fraud Scheme

Law enforcement agents with the Alabama Department of Corrections Investigations and Intelligence Division made multiple arrests following a two-month investigation into a prison money card and insurance fraud scheme.

Willie Edward Wells, 71, of Pike Road, Adrianne Mary Collins, 32, of Tuskegee, Latoya Howell, 25, and Alexia Danielle Collins, 22, of Montgomery, were arrested Thursday on felony charges ranging from identity theft, theft-of-property, to insurance fraud.  There is an outstanding arrest warrant for twenty-seven-year-old suspect Kimeya Pringle of Montgomery for first-degree theft-of- property.

State inmate Trederris Cowan, 27, who is suspected of initiating the scheme, was charged with identity theft, theft-of-property and conspiracy to commit insurance fraud.  Cowan is serving a four-year sentence for a 2015 theft-of-property conviction in Montgomery County.

The suspects are accused of using false identities to lure a family of a state inmate into paying for legal services to a fictitious law firm the suspects created as part of the scheme.  The suspects led the family to believe the law firm could get charges against their family member dropped, or sentence reduced, if the family agreed to pay for the services.  The suspects instructed the family to make the payments through prepaid money cards and money wiring transactions.   The suspects also used a victim’s identity to file a fraudulent insurance claim.

Director of ADOC’s Investigation and Intelligence Division, Arnaldo Mercado, said the public should be aware of such schemes.

“The public should know that the state, its officers, representatives, or employees would never request any type of payment in the form of a prepaid money card or other similar method,” Mercado said.

Mercado added that if anyone suspects such fraudulent activity is being perpetrated within the state prison system, they should contact the ADOC I&I Division at 334-353-8912, 1-866-293-7799, or report the crime by going to the ADOC website at http://www.doc.state.al.us/InvestigationRequest.

The U.S. Marshals Service and narcotics units from the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency and Montgomery Police Department assisted ADOC agents in Thursday’s arrests.  The case will go to the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office for further prosecution.